Doggy bed orders have gone through the woof
Designer can’t keep up with global demand
CAPTURING a global social media audience of more than 40million people in one weekend is something any Dragon’s Den judge would surely want to back.
But a Scots ambulance technician is making her own emergency call for a business partner to help meet demand for dog beds she designed to raise cash for animal charities.
Kaylee Robertson, 27, from Scalloway, Shetland, started turning old cabinets, donated by locals, into dog beds in March, and sells them for £35 a time to islanders.
But when she posted a video of her latest design on Facebook, it went viral and her inbox exploded with orders, as animal lovers and dog clubs shared it to millions of followers across the globe.
The bed takes being in the dog house to a whole new level.
Kaylee, who calls her charity business Sheltie Shacks, said: “A couple of weeks ago I made a particularly nice bed, it even had top drawers in it, so I put a video of it on Facebook. My friend said, ‘Do you know your video has had 2.2million views?’ Next thing, my inbox was overloaded with emails from all over the world wanting Sheltie shacks.
“I thought, ‘I am just one person.’ I was trying to reply but when I thought I had got to the bottom of the list, another 300 emails came in.”
Unable to meet growing demand, she put a post on Facebook saying she would auction any bed she made – and the first one brought in a bid of £140 plus postage.
The animal lover, who has seven Shetland sheepdogs and an Alaskan Klee Kai, said: “Over three days, 40million people clicked on that page.
“I think dog clubs must have been sharing it and bids were coming in from all over the world.” Kaylee can only make about 33 beds a year in her spare time.
But she hopes an entrepreneur will help manage her success and her chosen animal charities, which include TV Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick’s charity, Humanimal. Budding business partners can contact Kaylee on Facebook, or email her at hobbitpaws@ hotmail.com